Imam Mohamed Barrie being introduced at the FPU fundraising We were at the Fullah Progressive Union (FPU) fundraising event today, October 12th for the ebola epidemic in our country. The MC for the night was Abdul Karim Barrie and the DJ was our very own Umaru 40p Savage, who did a marvelous job. MC Abdul Karim talked of the history of FPU Massachusetts chapter and how it started by the encouragement and motivation of brother Mohammed Juma (known as the founder of KPU Massachusetts), who is a member of our community and Abdul Karim introduced and allowed all the guest speakers to speak, including a Jewish speaker, Imam Mohammed Barrie and his father who came all the way from Atlanta with his mother for this event. He later introduced all the members of FPU, executive and non executive. Below is the history given by them about the Fullah Progressive Union. The Fullah Progressive Union, commonly known as F.P.U emerged in 1983, from what was then known as the The Fullah Youth Organization (F.Y.O), when some of our Fullah Elders and Affluent members of our community, Alhaji Seray Wurie, (then Fullah Tribal Headman/ or cheif), Alhaji Sesay Bah (then Central Fullah Imam), Alhaji Abu Bakarr Tejan Jalloh, Kotor Bailor Barrie, Alhaji Sanu Barrie, and Kotor Musa Jalloh ( of Sierra Leone fisheries, and a foundling member of FYO), to name a few. These Fullah community elders and leaders met with the then Youth leadership to discuss the possibility of modifying the FYO to be inclusive of not only youth , but the entire community. Few meetings followed after and hence the birth of the F.P.U to cater for the Sierra Leonean Fullahs at home and aboard. Little do we Sierra Leoneans know that the Sierra Leone is a land of immigrants, so much so that of nineteen/twenty officially recognized tribes in Sierra Leone, only two are known to be indigineous (Loko and Sherbo). All the rest came from somewhere, primarily Guinea. The Fullahs are no exception. By the early to the mid 1800s, Fullahs have started their migration to Sierra Leone. The Alpha Bellah or Barrie families of Bompe (Rotifunk) and Mateboi (Sanda), The Bundunkas or Wurie family of Gbinty, The TImbos of Royanka/Rokulan (Sanda), The Kaikais of Pujehan, The Fullah Mansas of Yoni, The Jalloh Jamborias, The Baba Alie, and the Tejan Sie families of Freetown and the Western Area. These are some of the few known early prominent migrant families then. This migration continued in a relatively slow pace, like the migration of Alhaji Bademba (Bailor Barries lineage) to Kabala, Alhaji Kalesira (Kamakwie) pace, to name a couple. Up until the mid 1900s when we had the largest migration surge in Sierra Leones history. The DIAMOND discovery and mining in Sierra Leone brought forth Fullahs from all corners of West Africa; Mali, Senegal, The Gambia, The Cameroons, The Ivory Coast, and most of all, Guinea. In the 25 year period (between 1960 and 1985), the migration of Fullahs from Guinea, was more of a exodus than mere migration. About the same period when the Diamond trade was booming in Sierra Leone, Guinea gained her independence (October 2nd, 1958), under the leadership of President Ahmad Sheku Torre. The Sovialist ideology coupled with the Hard Line Governing of President Sheku Torre caused hard working Guineans to flee the country in large numbers. Most of them came to Sierra Leone. These new sets of immigrants were individual in nature. They came to seek to better themselves, doing all sorts of odd jobs, most common labor types, such as pushing heavily loaded carts (Ormorlankays), Sire wood chopping, even carrying loads on their heads. A few opened petty grocery shops and some went to the Diamond mines as petty traders and miners. In the middle of all this, these people were being harassed by quote, supposed, Serra Leonean citizens unquote. Every so often, their shops used to be looted, beat up those who resist, and even threatened with deportation, especially in Freetown and the Western Area. While this was going on there was also a very noticeable disparity in the nations educational system and work force against minority tribes, especially Fullahs. In 1961, Sierra Leone gained Independence, and except for the Governor General, the Government and or all Political positions were held by what we knew then as the Country man (Mende, Temne, Limba, Loko, Sherbo, etc.) and the Creoles (The Colony People) held unto the Civil Service. They controlled the Railways, Ports Authority, Public Works, the ministry of education, etc, and they were in charge. Thus, the country people especially foreigners such as Fullahs were looked down on and found it difficult to get jobs, enter good schools especially in the Freetown area, and of course the notion of scholarships for the university was prractically zero for Fullah youths. By 1966, the number of Fullah students at Fourah Bay College was less than a dozen. Jajah Mariama Jalloh, Abu Bakarr Jalloh, Abdul Karim Barrie, Abdulai Wurie, Almamy Timbo, and a few others. The other tribes had some chances; they may now have a Politician family member or a friend of a family member who was a politician. So they had some chance. But for the Fullah child from Sanda, or Kabala whose father was a Cattle rearer, or the Fullah kid in the city whose father was a petty trader, or housing security guard and knew no one in higher places, could not enter some of prestigious high schools and universities (secondary schools) such as Grammar School, Annie Walsh, Prince of Wales (POW) etc Fourah Bay College. The Fullahs were caught between a rock and a hard place, as the American puts it. Our brothers were being harassed and abused, and we were being suppressed and discriminated against. We had to do something. The Fullah Youth Organization was thus formed by a group of young Fullahs to address this plight. These people then inclided Lare Jotor Musa Jalloh, Ahaji Abuu Bakarr Jalloh, Late Alhaji Muhamed Saidu Bah, to name a few. The purpose was for us Fullahs, be it Sierra Leonean, Guinean, Senegalese, or whatever to unite and combat this injustice through peaceful delegations to the Nations leadership and other Authorities. With the support of the then Fullah Chief, Alhaji Bah, and other e;ders like Agibu Jalloh, Bailor Barrie, Alhaji Sanu Barrie, the organizationm as its Motto implies, Fottal et Portal (Unity and Progress) was able to move forward and did quite a few successful projects before the elders came in full time, and changed to name to FPU. The Fullahs have come a long way making great strides in education, political, economic, and social sectors. We did it together with folks that shared different values from us. We owe these individuals and communities some of the successes of our parents and opportunities that our current generations and benefiting from. We can only thank them for being there with us during the struggles, risking their lives and properties to help our parents and our forefathers. Today we face with different challenges but similar issues such as Assimilation with complete neglect of the very values that the previous generations fought hard to promote and preserve. FPU seeks to invest in our local community, participate in multicultural programs and events, create or promote programs to educate our youths of our rich culture, language, and moral values of hard work ,family, entrepreneurship, education, leadership, and community solidarity. This will help the youth appreciate their heritage and culture and per take leadership roles in their respective communities. They will be the generation to make the change that our communities need to grow into and face the challenges of the 21st century while holding true to our core Fullah heritage and values
Posted on: Fri, 31 Oct 2014 17:28:18 +0000
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